divine intervention
by TFRiD Queen
Summary: Set in the school days AU-verse, 'divine intervention', wherein both Sio/Nobunagun and Adam/Jack are not e-gene holders or anything, but rather regular humans who are twins instead. Please note that this story will contain very mature content, including homosexual and incest themes. Adam/Sio, Jack/Nobunagun, and everything in between.
1. Truly, Madly, Deeply

**A/N: Please note that this story will contain very mature content, as well as the element of incest, specifically Jack harboring incestuous feelings towards Adam. If you are in any way, shape or form uncomfortable with any of these ideas, then you should not read this. This chapter does contain mature content, including incest + homosexual feelings, and masturbation.**

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><p>They had been doing something completely mundane earlier—either playing video games or watching some random movie that was playing on cable channel, he can't recall—just typical, teenaged behavior.<p>

Normal. Acceptable.

It wasn't until Adam announced that they should probably get some sleep before they turned into complete zombies that he agreed to turn off the screen and follow his brother up the stairs.

Two rooms. Two beds. Two brothers.

Twins.

So why is it now that he is currently perched precariously above his twin, who is sound asleep with a look of pure serenity on his face while he has one hand sunk inside his boxers, stroking himself harder and harder as his gut churns with a mixture of shame and pure ecstasy?

This isn't normal; he knows this, understands that normal siblings do not have lustful thoughts about each other, and certainly do not jerk themselves off to the other while said other is sleeping right below them. But oh…he cannot help himself. The perfection that is his other half…no, he'd once read an article written by some other twin in which the author described twins as being the perfect definition of a soulmate, one who perfectly understood you and literally made up half of your own being. He thinks of making Adam all his, only his and a low whine escapes his tightly clenched teeth, much to his dismay.

_'Shit! Don't wake up, don't wake up, please don't…'_

Below, his twin stirs for a brief second but doesn't open his eyes. He heaves a sigh of relief, wondering if he should retreat now while he still has the chance. For if Adam were to wake right now, just the thought of his reaction to this…this sickening behavior… His hand continues anyway, pumping a little harder, a little faster—maybe if he can come before things get any riskier…

"Hmnn…shut up Jack…" The body below turns and for a second he narrowly dodges hitting his legs which are straddled just above his brother's waist, and in that twisting movement the shirt is pulled up, exposing the paleness of his body. With the moon streaming through a crack in the curtains, he is spellbound by this sight, of what he claims is utter perfection: the vast expanse of pale skin, alabaster-white and entirely smooth, unlike him, whose torso is littered with scars from the countless fights he's gotten himself into over the years. The muscles lying below forming perfectly etched ridges…he just wants to reach down and run a fingertip, just one, down the lines and down, down down…

_'Oh, you said my name…'_ But not like that, not like the way he wishes, all panting and desperate; no doubt he's simply dreaming about having yet another argument with him, always being exasperated with him about one thing or another.

No, his brother surely would never harbor such repulsive thoughts, such impure thoughts. He has always been the better of the two—maybe because he's just a few minutes older?—the responsible one, mature one, always looking out for him and their mother while he became the literal wild child, running around and causing all kinds of mischief one way or another. And still he is always forgiven, always; no matter how bad things got between them, always…

_'But will you forgive this? This sin…of lusting after your own twin…'_

He's breathing much heavier now, trying to pant silently because if he were to remove his supporting hand now, he'd fall over for sure; but it's hard, hard to not just moan and call for his brother, to beg for his forgiveness. _'I'm sorry! I know I'm not normal, that I'm some sort of freak; you can hate me, call me a monster, a sin—that's okay with me. Just please, don't push me away…don't reject me…'_

Something slippery is trickling out the tip and he knows he's close, he's very close to climaxing…and yet, through the haze of lustful indecencies, a piercing voice shuns him, shaming him for being able to come to the thought of his own brother and his desires drop a little, not completely but just enough so that he doesn't come quite yet.

_'N-no…ugghnn, god, why can't I…come…!'_

Perhaps he truly doesn't desire his brother after all, and this is just some momentary madness, some misfiring of neurons combined with the unpredictability of a teenager's hormones. But that doesn't make him any less hard, his hand move any less faster or tighter as he feeds the growing heat in his lower gut. He swallows hard lest he accidentally drools all over Adam (which would wake him up for sure), mouth dry and lungs heaving for air from the silence he is forcing upon himself.

Or maybe this is just some extreme form of narcissism, of self-love? True enough, they are identical down to every last physical feature, including their unusual silver hair and piercing emeralds for eyes. But that doesn't explain why he never fantasizes about himself, clearly making a distinction between the two halves 'Jack' and 'Adam'.

_'Adam is better, he's always been the perfect one…whereas I'm just a disgusting, worthless piece of trash…'_

He doesn't remember when this started; for as long as he can remember, they've been brothers, twins, just like any other siblings. Sure they fought and argued, and competed and occasionally made each others' lives hell, but it had always been bonded with sibling love. Their desire to protect each other.

So where down the path did this sibling love turn into illicit desire?

He thinks maybe it was there all along, just dormant under the conventions of brotherly love and social expectations, of childhood innocence. But now that they're older, and more importantly, the introduction of that other set of twins into both their lives…

The Ogura twins. Identical twin sisters, just like them, one shy and gentle while the other was a whirling blaze of sass and attitude. He'd been taken with the brash one—Nobunaga or rather, Nobunagun as she'd dubbed herself—immediately, her fire and spirit unlike any other girl he'd met before. And no matter how many times Adam had denied it, he couldn't lie to his own twin about his burgeoning feelings for the quieter one, Sio.

Twins dating twins. Everything was fine and dandy, right? Oh, if only all things in the world could be so simple…

He wants Adam to be happy; truly he does, for nothing is more important than his brother. Even if it means acknowledging that one day, they will part, and lead separate lives…his breath catches as his nail scratches the sensitive head and a deep wave of pleasure erupts, so powerful it nearly knocks him over and brings him face-to-face with his twin, so close he can count each individual eyelash and smell the scent that is purely 'Adam'.

How bad would it be if he just leaned down right now, and kissed him…but no, he still has some level of self-control, what little is left. _'No touching, only looking…'_ Every time he is about to orgasm some guilty self-conscious barges in, reminds him again and again of how wrong this behavior is. Yet…at this point, he is all but lost to his own pleasure, is desperate to take everything he can get at this point—Adam's breath fanning against his face, how beautiful his other self is just lying there—a sudden tightening in his stomach and he knows it's coming—

_'—oh god Adam, I'm coming because of you…I'm so—I'm sorry—Adam AdamAdam—!'_

"Adam!"

Unable to hold anything back, he lets out a cry and to his horror, the force of his orgasm not only causes him to actually call out his brother's name, but his arm weakens and he collapses face-first onto the other's body, instantly waking him up.

"_Ugh_ what th—Jack?!" His brother immediately sits up while he hastily pulls his hand from his underwear, hoping he won't notice the stickiness. "Christ, yeh scared the shit outta me…shit, you all right?" He peers worriedly at his twin, taking in his appearance—chest heaving, clothes all sweaty and hair sticking to his forehead and—were those tears? "Oy, what's wrong?"

"I-I-I, uh, I…" He wishes he can form coherent sentences, but he can barely catch his breath, the adrenaline from both his climax and fear still coursing strongly through his veins. "S-Sorry, I…had a…nightmare…" The lamest of lame excuses, but in the state he's in now, it's all he can think of.

"Jesus, must've been some nightmare. Here, need a tissue?" He blinks as it's offered to him, for a second scared that his brother might've guessed the real reason, until he gently presses it against his cheek. "Yer cryin'…"

"Oh…" When did that happen? It isn't just a drop or two either, he realizes as he wipes his face, but enough to have left two sets of tracks. "Thanks…"

His brother sighs and pats his shoulder. "Sure. So uh, yeh wanna…talk about it?"

"Huh?" He blinks stupidly.

A silver brow raised in slight irritation. "Uh, th' nightmare? That _is_ why you apparently fell over me, and are now in my bed, correct?"

"Oh, that…it's, uh…" He can't meet his brother's eye, because one look and Adam will know instantly he's lying. "It was…weird. I-I mean, just…" Shit, if there was one thing that being twins made difficult, it was lying to the other. Still, there was no way he could ever reveal his forbidden thoughts towards his brother.

"Fine, 'f yeh don't feel like talkin' about it, then don't force it. Though, I gotta say, you haven't come running to me about a bad dream since we were what, ten?" A hint of teasing in the elder one's voice, completely oblivious to the actual reason for his being here. "Was it really that bad?"

"I-I—it's none of yer business! So what if it was…" Cheeks burning, he huffs angrily and wipes his eyes, suddenly relieved that things are back to 'normal'. Normal siblings teasing each other…the way it's supposed to be, right?

Adam just laughs at his childish fit. "Riiight. Anyway, yeh sure yer okay?"

"Yeah…don't worry about me, I'm…okay now." He nods slowly, as if to reassure himself that yes, that was just a fit of momentary indulgence. Adam is his twin brother, nothing more.

At least, that's what he tells himself until Adam reaches over, and pulls him close, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Hey, listen Jack…I know yeh hate 'brotherly love' an' all that shit, but I'm serious—you can talk to me about anything, yeh know that…right?" His face is so close that it brings a wave of heat running back up but he tamps down that feeling and swallows nervously.

"I know I know, god, don't hafta get all 'mushy' on me…" He pulls away, afraid that lingering even a second longer and he will lose control entirely. "Ow!" A hit in the back of his head with a pillow and he turns around, glaring at the perpetrator.

"Hn, well looks like someone's back to normal…anyway, I'm goin' back to sleep, unless yeh needed anything else?"

_'Yes, I need you…'_

"…No. Sorry for…bargin' in like that." Never again; he can't risk this again, not when he still loves his brother as a brother. Why he even did this in the first place…for some reason, he can't think of the answer now, after it's all over.

"…_Ookaay_." A pause. "Um. Jack."

"…Yeh?"

"…There a reason you're still here?" Too late, he realizes that he's been caught up in his own volatile thoughts for the past minute, instead of 'acting normal' and heading back to his own room.

Maybe…just, one last thing…

"…Can I…stay here?"

His twin stares at him hard for a second, and instantly he regrets his decision—how stupid, they're nearly grown men at this point, and still he wants to share a bed like they did back in primary school? How foolish.

"…Uh, sure…I guess…" The tone clearly states that he knows there's something else, or at the very least, there's something in that dream that greatly shook him. But as always, he is the kinder one, the mature one, and so he allows him to stay without any further questions. "Dunno if it'll be that comfortable though…"

Now he feels like shit, in more ways than one. But it's too late to back out now; if he changes his mind again, that would only raise more suspicions and besides, he really does want to stay by his side tonight. "…Thanks." He hesitates, before slowly lying down, filling half of the warm crevice after Adam scoots to the side to make room, his back pressed against the other but instead of cramped it feels comforting. The pillow and sheets smell like him, and it fills him with this strange sort of coziness, of memories back when they were younger, memories that he'd nearly forgotten.

"G'night, Jack…"

"'Night, Adam…" In less than a minute he hears his twin's breathing even out, indicating that he's already asleep again. Slowly he sits up, his brain yelling at him to lie back down and get to sleep already, but just a little bit—

—his lips ghost the other's cheek and it's just as soft and smooth as he imagines—

_"—I love you, Adam."_

Somehow, he doesn't care if his brother actually hears it or not. It's best if he doesn't, if he never knows—but he can't help but hope. For even as he finally starts getting drowsy, and at last his thoughts turn away from the body that is lying right next to him and instead to that of a lithe, petite shell of a spitfire who can match even his acerbic tongue—

—he knows at this point, there is no denying it—that he is in love with his twin brother.

Truly, madly, deeply in love.


	2. No Differences

**A/N: 2 months prior...**

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><p>The alarm clock was counting up, 57, 58, 59…<p>

BAM. Like a ninja did she slam her hand on the buzzer, the poor timepiece never even given a chance to fulfill its duty. But alas, when your owner was a hot-headed, acid-tongued spitfire (who may or may not have been slightly insane) who wasn't beyond randomly tossing things out the window just because they pissed her off, you considered yourself lucky to still be in one piece.

One _working_ piece.

"Heh heh heh…today's the start of the new semester, isn't it, Sio-chan~?" Crawling up the bunk bed's ladder with practiced ease, she made sure to position herself correctly (falling would be bad—she knew from previous attempts) first and then—

_'D'aww, she's so adorable…I almost feel bad about doing this…almost…'_ Directly below, her sister was still sleeping like a log, covers pulled up to her nose and her beloved Bunny-tan snuggled tightly in her grip, its fur nearly gone from years of being hugged. Still, promises were promises, and she had sworn to wake her up and make sure they got to school on time, no matter what…

"OHMYGOD SIO WAKE UP WE'RE ALREADY LATE WAKEUPWAKEUP—!"

She didn't even finish her sentence before the sleeping one shot up like a rocket, the other girl narrowly avoiding an unintentional skull bash (lesson #14: immediately move out of the way) as she rolled onto her back, gripping her stomach in pure laughter.

"WHAAA—Nobu, I thought I told you to wake me! Why didn't you—" Seeing her sister's burst of hysterics, she glanced at the clock that was mounted to the side of the wall.

7:01AM.

School started promptly at 8:30AM.

Slowly, she turned towards her twin, who had calmed down considerably, though she still hiccuped occasionally.

"_Nobunagun_…"

"What! You told me to make sure you woke up, so I did!" Snorting slightly, she gave a nonchalant shrug. "I kept my word like I said."

"I-I—yeah, I meant, you could at least _wait_ until the alarm went off FIRST, and THEN see if I was up or not! You _know_ I hate being scared like that!" Her cheek puffier than a squirrel's, she unceremoniously smacked her sister in the face with Bunny-tan.

"Ow—aww come on Sio-chan, don't be so grumpy; it's the first day of the new semester after all!" No response from the other, who proceeded to climb down the ladder as if she hadn't heard her sister at all. "Hey…are you really mad about that? Sio-chan?"

Whoops. Perhaps scaring the crap out of her twin sister on the first day of '12th Grade: Act II' wasn't the brightest idea in the world. Eh, too late for that; as guilty as she felt, she couldn't deny the results had been hilarious. Setting Bunny-tan back onto the covers, she proceeded into the shared bathroom where her sister was already washing up.

"Nobunaga, what did you do to your sister this time?" They hadn't even gotten halfway down the stairs before their mother appeared at the bottom, hands on her hips as she eyed the older one wearily.

"What! I didn't do anything—"

"There was screaming, _again_, this morning—"

"—I was just waking her up!" A skeptical look as the younger one casually walked around, helping herself to breakfast while the older one was being interrogated.

"Nobunaga, frightening your sister out of her wits does is _not_ a suitable method. You're both about to graduate high school—you should know better by now."

"…I'm sorry." Okay scratch that, it had been a really bad idea. But she couldn't help it—Sio-chan was just too cute not to tease. "…Can I eat now?"

Sighing, their mother let her go, although everybody knew that it would just go in one ear and out the next. Still, there was no denying that the twins had a special bond—regardless of how much she teased her, they were always together, sharing everything—clothes, room, and secrets galore.

"Oy Sio, hurry up would ya? We gotta head out now or we'll really be late." Despite having been delayed, Nobunagun almost always managed to finish eating first, while Sio was often the last one at the table.

"_Maah_, Nobu-_nee-sama_, wait!" Struggling to get her shoe on, the twins waved a quick bye to their parents before heading into the warm sunshine.

"And there they go…it's hard to believe they'll be heading off to university so soon…" As soon as the twins disappeared from view, their mother closed the door as the father got ready for work.

"Well, they can't stay little girls forever…though, sometimes it does seem like it all passed by so quickly…"

"Asao-san! _Ohayo_!" Halfway down the path to school, the twins usually met up with one of their (or maybe only) best friend, Kaoru Asao. Well, technically Nobunagun always felt a little weird towards the more-reserved girl; she had approached Sio first, and then the two had struck up an unusual (most popular girl in school hanging out with the class outcast whose twin was the most-feared student in the entire 12th grade) but close, friendship. Not that Asao-san was a bad person, rather she was grateful for her in getting Sio to open up around others more, but she had a feeling that she would never be as close or understand the girl as much as her sister did.

"Yo, Asa-_o_," she greeted casually, before letting the two walk side-by-side as she fell into step just behind them. This was fine, the way it had been for a long time it seemed; the two would talk about all the trivial, fluffy things that she deemed 'girl talk', while Nobunagun contemplated on her own. Not that she was jealous or anything, of course not.

…Well, maybe just a little. Sometimes. Like whenever the two of them got excited like they were right now, and seemingly forgot that hey, she was walking right behind them and yeah, going to see the latest Godzilla movie sounded like fun too—

"—What about Mami-chan? Should we invite her too?"

"—Mmm! I'm sure she's free this weekend…"

_'Uh, hello? I'm free this weekend too…'_ Grumbling to herself, by the time they reached campus, her mood had turned sour, and all the students avoided her more than they already usually did. Even their new homeroom teacher didn't dare say anything as she took the seat right next to her sister, despite it having been assigned to some random dude (who quickly packed up his books and switched without a word).

_'Tch, guess I won't be going anywhere this Saturday…' _Her moody thoughts about Sio's plans were interrupted by the sudden arrival of two very new, very interesting—whoa were those _green_ eyes? And _silver_ hair?—

"Settle down everyone, please, I have a quick announcement to make; for the remainder of the school year, we've been lucky enough to participate in an exchange program with one of London's top high schools. As part of the program, we will now have two student-teachers to help with your English lessons—Adam Muirhead-san and his brother, Jack Muirhead-san. The rest of the time, they will be regular students, just like you, so please do your best to make them feel welcome here."

The room immediately started buzzing with activity, rumors flying abound about the two _gaijin_ brothers who were very clearly twins. _Handsome_ twins at that. Nobunagun felt her cheeks flushing, unconsciously licking her lips. She'd gone out with a few guys last year, nothing special—mostly they'd either bored her to tears or ended up being terrified of her—but this, them… Vaguely she wondered who would be better in bed.

"Ah, so there's two seats in the middle of the row—you can decide where you'd like to sit," the sensei pointed at the vacancies, both of which just happened to be right between her and Sio.

The one on the right—Jack, was it?—pulled what appeared to be a quick smirk, though it was so subtle that she doubted anybody caught it, but as he sidled up to the spot next to her, she could've sworn he gave her a wink.

Hmm. Well, this would certainly be an interesting semester…

"Oh my god, did you see those two? They're _soo_ hot—"

"—very tall! But I guess all Europeans are like that…"

"—those dreamy eyes…such a piercing color!"

"I wonder why they have white hair though?"

Lunchtime was in full swing, and to her surprise, Sio had opted to eat together with her, just the two of them, instead of grouping together with Asao-san's little clique. Inwardly she felt a little better, that she was probably just overreacting again about Sio outgrowing her.

_'I don't care where our futures end up; I'll always be by her side, no matter what…'_

"_Ano_, Nobu-_nee-sama_, so, what did Muirhead-san want?"

She nearly spit her juice out all over the latest issue of Tanks Monthly that the two were pouring over. "Wh-what?! What are you talking about, he just happens to sit next to me! And which one are we talking about here, can't you just use their first names?"

Sio just giggled and popped another tomato into her mouth. "Oh, Jack-san I guess, but I thought it looked like he was going to talk to you at the beginning of class…?"

"Nuh uh. All I did was say hi and tell him my name." Shrugging, she flipped to the next page, until a shadow was suddenly cast over the text.

"Well, you are Miss Nobunaga, correct? And your sister, Miss Sio." Speak of the devil. "I gotta say, I never expected a _girl_ to have a name like that…"

The entire class seemed to have fallen into a sort of hush, all eyes on one of the new arrivals who was very clearly engaged with the school's most infamous set of twins. Slowly, she closed the magazine, before standing up.

"First off, it's Nobuna_gun_, and secondly, how's that any of your damned business?" Next to her, she could see her sister blushing and shaking her head half in apology, half in embarrassment at her brash behavior. "Oh hush Sio, it's fine."

To her surprise, he didn't seem offended at all, only gave out a low chuckle that was strangely pleasing to her ear. "Okay then, Miss Nobuna_gun_, if that's how yeh wanna be called, 's fine by me. What, you some sort of gun-nut?"

"What's it to you?" She replied just as cooly, the whole school knew by now that the Ogura twins were hardcore military-otaku, but this newcomer, this _gaijin_—

"—Nothin'. I just appreciate people who aren't like others, that's all." He gave a quick glance over at Sio, who looked like she just wanted to crawl under a rock. "Are you th' one who does all th' talkin' between you two or somethin'?"

In an instant did she get right up in his face, his pupils contracting slightly as she grabbed him by the collar, though he did not back down. "Listen Muirhead—"

"—Jack please, nobody calls me by my last name—"

"—all right, _Jack-san_ then. You're new around here, so I'll let you off just this one time. But you see, there's a little rule that everyone else follows, and that is, _you don't fuck with my sister._ Else I'll cut off your balls and sell them to a Krogan."

The classroom turned so quiet you could hear a pin drop, although unfortunately for Sio, this kind of blackmail-followed-by-awkwared-silence had sort of become normal. Every year, there was some student, either new or just entirely oblivious, who would attempt to either hit on her or interact with in some way that displeased Nobunagun (read: everything) and they would go through this entire spiel. It had gotten to the point where the teachers didn't even bother reporting her anymore, and she never actually hurt anybody.

Well, none that were on the record, anyway.

He kept staring at her for a few more seconds, which was strangely unnerving—and nothing unnerved her—but just his face, those startlingly beautiful eyes—

"…Heh. You've got quite a temper, don't you Miss Nobunagun…but that's okay, I can understand your sentiments…'fter all, takes one t'know one, right?" Just as she released him from her death grip, the other one came back, two bottles of tea in hand and looking very confused at this scenario before him. "Oh hey Adam, good timing—"

"—Jack, what did you—"

"—Nothing. Just sayin' hi to our, ah, neighboring twins…"

As if time had started up again, now that she was no longer issuing death-threats, everybody resumed their conversations, like nothing ever happened. Adam looked like he wasn't buying it, but clearly he was too polite to say anything more, at least in public. Hmm, if she had to take a guess, she'd put him to be the older one…although, then again, she was the elder and there were times that Sio was more mature than she was. Details, details…

They were just about to start afternoon classes when he casually leaned over, making it look like he was just reaching for something in his bag but she heard his whisper—

"—for the record, I think your balls would be worth more to a Krogan than mine."


	3. Dried Up Youthful Fame

**A/N: General viewpoints in this story will switch; right now, it's Adam's turn.**

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><p>"All right, 'fess up; what were yeh goin' on about during lunch?"<p>

"I already told ya, I was just sayin' hello! Honest! Why ya gotta always suspect me of doing somethin' wrong…"

It had been one of the longest days of Adam's life, and to think, it wasn't even fully over yet. Keeping inline with Japanese 'tradition', both brothers had somehow defaulted into joining the English Literature club, although he had a feeling that Jack was only doing it just for arbitrary reasons and if that was the case, he wasn't sure how long they'd both stick around. Perhaps something more interesting, like kendo or fencing…but maybe later. Like after he got his bearings in this country that was very similar, yet very different than their home of London, England.

"I am not; but then how else are yeh gonna explain why I came back t'find you an' that Ogura girl up in each other's faces?" If there was one advantage about being twins, it was that lies were practically nonexistent. Unnecessary. No use in lying, because what was the point, when your twin already knew everything about you?

The class had quieted down considerably after that little display during lunch, and certainly it was better than the eye and earful they'd both gotten during the morning introductions. Although he'd mentally prepared himself for this, even back when they were still seriously considering doing the exchange, there was nothing quite like being gawked at by a class full of strange faces, half of whom were only fascinated with them because they were gaijin twins and half of whom seemed only interested in getting in his pants.

It had been rather…unsettling, to say the least, but at least it seemed like Jack was taking it in perfect stride. Then again…he'd always been like that. Younger one or not, he'd always been the more open one, the brash one, never afraid of others' opinions and just doing whatever the hell he wanted, whereas Adam would be the one to hold back and think, before he actually acted.

His twin sighed and shifted the bag across his other shoulder. "Eh…it wasn't really a big deal or anythin'; I was just noticing how she—Nobunagun—always seemed to speak 'stead of th' other one. Kinda like you an' me, 'ey?"

"'Nobuna_gun_'? I thought her name was Nobunaga…yeh know, like the famous warlord."

A shrug. "Hell if I know; though I heard from some of the other students that apparently both of them are military _otaku_. Even the other one—Sio—though yeh wouldn't be able to tell at just a glance."

Military otaku? Well, that was new. "Guess yeh can be an otaku of anything here in Japan…" He hadn't interacted with the sisters much yet, aside from a perfunctory apology about Jack's rudeness (which was returned by an equally embarrassed Sio about Nobunagun's behavior). Nobunagun and Sio Ogura…what were the odds that they'd meet another set of twins in their new school, and a set of girl twins, no less?

The lock clicked and the door to their apartment opened, Jack not even bothering to take off his shoes before dumping the school bag onto the couch. Adam was just glad that this first day had gone more-or-less smoothly. "Oy, take off yer shoes dammit, we can't scuff th' floor, remember?"

"_Hai hai, onii-chan~_" His brother rolled his eyes as he mimicked the high-pitched squeal those Japanese girls seemed to always adopt whenever they talked to him during class—especially when the teacher had asked them to go around helping others during the English lesson. He wasn't sure if they were nodding and saying yes because they understood him or because they were too enamored with him in general. Growling, he gave a slight punch to the back of the other's head.

"Quit messin' around; God, we haven't even been here for more than a week and already I'm havin' doubts about puttin' up with being stared at like a…_freakshow_…"

It wasn't like they hadn't talked about it seriously; sure, it was Jack who initially came up (impulsively, like always) with the idea of volunteering the two for the exchange program the moment it had been mentioned in their class back in London. And okay, maybe he would admit to having a slight fascination to Japanese pop culture (strictly casual mind you, nowhere near the levels of any meaning of otaku) and hey, if it was going to be pretty much paid for by the school then why the bloody hell not?

Though the thought of leaving their mother all by herself for a good half-a-year did pain him; despite her constant reassurance to both boys that this was a wonderful opportunity, and that they should both take this chance to explore the world, he still felt guilty about essentially leaving her behind. Ever since he became old enough to understand responsibility, he had unconsciously adapted the role of 'man of the house', so to speak. He didn't remember anything about their father—neither of them did, and the only thing their mother had ever mentioned was that she was only grateful to him for one thing—and that was the two of them.

"Ouch. A bit harsh on yourself, aren't yeh, Adam? C'mon, don't be such a cynic—yeh know how Japanese are with outsiders—'specially foreigners. They don't really mean any harm by it." Some time during the midst of his own thoughts, Jack had apparently changed out of his uniform and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that said 'Keep Calm and Go F*ck Yourself.'

Which was actually very typical of him.

"I _know_; it's just…weird, I guess. Dunno how well I'm gonna do with this whole 'student-teacher' thing…" It also probably didn't help that both of them were over 6 feet tall and incredibly pale. Even back in England, there'd been rumors that they had some form of albinism, and only their eyes had been spared the genetic anomaly that had otherwise left them with near-translucent skin and silvery-white hair that gave rise to countless teasing and a fair number of fights in the schoolyard.

Green eyes just like his own blinked back at him. "Hmm, well, 's not like a serious position. I feel like it'll just boil down to being a human spell-checker and Japanese-to-English dictionary." Even after all these years, Adam was still surprised at Jack's ability to quickly size up and adapt to just about any situation, all without much difficulty. "Though, if we're talkin' about 'private' tutoring…"

"Ha ha, very funny. This ain't yer typical _hentai_ manga scenarios, yeh know…" His uniform was getting kind of stuffy; best change out of it soon, especially if he was going to cook later. "…Just, how can you be so…calm about all this?"

"…I wouldn't say I'm calm about it, y'know." The computer chair gave a squeak as the other sat down while he carefully hung up his uniform, standing around in nothing but his boxers. Luckily the curtains were drawn. "I guess I just…don't see the point in makin' a fuss. We're here, we're kinda, y'know, committed to sticking this thing through 'til the end. What else are yeh gonna do?"

Though he wouldn't have minded sharing a room, the apartment they'd been assigned to had come with two (albeit tiny) bedrooms, though the bathroom was shared. Not that he cared—he'd grown up his whole life sharing just about everything with his brother, to him the bathroom was just another resource between the two. Unlike Jack, who was surprisingly a neat freak, he hadn't had the time nor energy to even think about unpacking his clothes yet, digging through his suitcase for something to wear while his brother perched backward in his chair, making a grimace at the mess he was creating as he clawed through for that one t-shirt.

"I don't know. I guess I…just wasn't expectin' it."

"…Are you really that uncomfortable here?" A solemn statement, and he knew Jack was feeling guilty about roping him into this whole thing. "…Sorry. If you really don't wanna do this—"

"—Don't; I'm not mad at you; remember, I agreed to it too, all right?" Buttoning up his polo, he opened the curtains again, the sun now sinking nearly below the horizon. "T'be honest, I don't care where the hell we are, as long as I know yer stickin' by me." He usually didn't say such…fluffy things, but it was true; no matter the situation, time or place, he would be okay with it so long as Jack was with him. That bond, that irreplaceable trust that was closer than even that of normal siblings…

If something ever happened to Jack, he didn't know what he'd do.

His brother was silent for a bit, his expression unusually serious for once. No doubt he was trying to reconcile his own feelings… If it had concerned anybody else, Jack would've simply responded with that acerbic tongue of his, but if it was Adam…just one word, even a hint of disapproval from the older one, and he'd shatter like glass. Sighing, he walked over and gently ruffled his silvery hair.

"Oy, stop bein' so glum; else yer gonna start makin' _me_ feel bad." The bond worked both ways, he supposed—if one wasn't happy, then the other couldn't be either. "If yeh really wanna do somethin', how about hangin' up my clothes for me while I make dinner?"

"…Slave-driver." Normally Adam would've retorted with some snark or another, but right now he just grinned.

"Hey, you started it. 'Sides, you've always been better at this…organizing shit than me." His brother simply made a face. "What, don't think I didn't see your…discomfort at all this pile of clothes, I know it's upsetting yer 'OCD neatness' tick—"

"—all right all right, I get it! Now just go do your little domestic-shtick while I organize your sorry excuse for a closet—ow!"

Now that was a remark that warranted at least a playful punch to the shoulder. "Shut up, ya wanna eat dinner or not?"

"_…Hai, onii-chan…_"

Both of them simultaneously burst into hysterics at that.

True to his word, when Adam returned to his room just before dinner, his room had been completely straightened up: luggage to one side, his uniform hanging in front for the next day, textbooks stacked by subject on his desk and clothes put away. By _color_.

Which was why he was always baffled at how Jack tended to make a mess in the kitchen, when his room was always spotless. Not that he couldn't cook—quite well in fact—just, it always seemed like he took twice as long and spilled things twice as often as Adam. Oh well, as long as he cleaned up afterwards…

"I wonder, if those Ogura twins are like us, too…"

"Eh? Whaddya mean…'like us'?" Chopsticks paused in mid-air, the piece of fish nearly slipping from its grasp but he noticed at the last minute and caught it before that happened.

"No…I just mean, it's interesting, y'know, to meet another one…kinda, like you…ahh, fuck if I know what I'm sayin'. Nevermind."

He knew Jack wasn't done though, that if he simply just let him ruminate on his thoughts, he would start talking without any prodding. And sure enough…

"…I mean, just to…talk to another twin. I guess I'm curious; even if they're girls, 's not everyday yeh meet another set. An identical set, too. Even if they are gun nuts."

Silence. "So…yeh wanna be friends, eh?" Knowing his brother, if he could get more than that—all the better.

"Why do you sound so suspicious all of a sudden, brother dearest."

"Yer imaginin' things." Picking up his plate, he piled the dirty ones into the sink—washing them was not his job—before going back to wipe up the table. "What makes yeh think they're gonna appreciate just being…suddenly approached by two _gaijin_?"

"…'Cause they're twins too?"

Hm. To be honest, he was quite curious himself. Just the fact that Nobunagun girl hadn't backed down at all in the usual polite-Japanese manner, but rather confronted Jack…maybe they would be more interesting than the rest of the female population who were constantly fawning all over them.

"…Also, I think they like t' play video games."

One silver brow raised. "What makes yeh say that?"

"…Well, right before yeh came back, she threatened to cut off my balls an' sell 'em to a Krogan." Despite the harshness of the threat, there was a slow grin forming on his brother's face, his sharp teeth giving him a rather predatory-like appearance—

"—Jack!"

So much for a smooth first day.


	4. Irony

"_Ano_, Nobu-_nee-sama_, what're you doing?"

It was nighttime now, both girls lounging in their room before their supposed bedtime (not that either of them really followed it, leading to more than one harried morning). Although Sio always took the bottom bunk, both were currently sprawled over the covers, she continuing to mark certain pages in the magazine while Nobunagun was assembling some sort of model.

"Eh? Can't you tell, it's supposed to be the Panzer IV Ausf. D from 'Girls und Panzer', remember? I thought you loved that show."

Oh yeah. Nobu tended to regard any and all hints of _moé_ with distaste, but she'd managed to rope her into watching at least one series together that didn't involve massive amounts of blood and violence. And yeah, so it was more fluff than action, but she did appreciate the accuracy of the tanks represented.

"Ah, I was just making sure…you're always more knowledgable than me, Nobu-_nee-sama_." A slight yelp as she was tapped on the nose by Bunny-tan.

"Oy, how many times have I told you to stop underestimating yourself? You're plenty smart; you just need to have more confidence." Squinting, her sister hadn't even remembered to put on her sleep shorts, too caught up in finishing the figurine before bed and really, if it weren't for her parents she would've had no issues going to sleep nude.

Blushing, the younger girl curled next to her sister's lap, watching her nimble hands assemble the tank with amazing speed and skill. _Stronger, smarter, more charismatic_…Nobunagun was everything that Sio wanted to be, wished that she could have. Despite her fierce exterior, there were plenty of guys who still tried their chance with her, and she'd heard rumors of a Nobunagun _fan club_ among the first-year girls.

Which was only just slightly creepy.

_'And I'm just plain old Sio Ogura, nothing special, except for being a military otaku and always being chosen last for sports teams.'_ But that was okay, because she didn't need to be in the spotlight—didn't like being in the spotlight. Even if it meant spending her entire high school career as a wallflower, in the shadow of her sister, that was okay…because as long as Nobunagun was successful, that was enough for her.

Still, today had been very exciting, if only because of those new transfers…the Muirhead twins. Adam-san and Jack-san. They had to be identical, because if they stood side-by-side and didn't say a word, she wouldn't have been able to tell them apart. Tall, incredibly pale and both sporting the exact same messy haircut for their silver strands, but her favorite feature was their eyes. She'd never seen such a brilliant color before, so _green_…

"…Almost like emeralds…" she mumbled, remembering Adam-san's apology upon returning and finding her sister squaring off with Jack-san.

"Huh? You'd say something, Sio?"

"E-Eh? A-ah, no, just…I can't believe we got two new students for this semester."

Her sister's mouth curved into a grin. "Oh ho? Those guy twins, right? Yeah, I was super surprised too; can't believe we actually got a school to do an exchange with us."

"Yeah…I hope I can improve my English this semester…"

"Really? 'Improve your English'? That's all you're interested in?" Having finished the tank, Nobunagun carefully set the model on her desk, her grin only growing larger. "Sure you're not interested in something else…or should I say, _someone_ else?"

Sio felt her cheeks flush. "N-Nobu! They've only just arrived, and you're already ch…choosing between them?!" If there was one thing she had to disagree with her sister on though, it would have to be their attitudes towards relationships. Ever since they hit adolescence, the older twin had no qualms about embracing her sexuality, perfectly fine with engaging in casual flings, whereas Sio couldn't even think about holding hands without getting a nosebleed. Not that she was saying her sister was promiscuous…okay maybe more lascivious…while she didn't constantly sleep with the nearest able-bodied person, all her relationships so far hadn't gone anywhere deep, nor had they lasted more than a few months. Despite Nobunagun being relatively good about keeping such activity out of the way, the knowledge that it existed still bothered her.

She just never had the courage to tell her how she really felt about it.

"_Hai hai_, calm down Sio-chan. I'm just joking…kind of." Suddenly her sister looked rather bashful, as if embarrassed but pleased at the same time. "But come on, you have to admit, they are pretty damn hot."

Well, she would have to agree with that…silvery strands, combined with that well-defined jawline and those lovely, lovely eyes… "…Yeah, they are really…good looking…" A rush of heat shot through her body and she shivered slightly, startled at the intensity of the emotion, though it was only for a moment.

Her sister gave a low whistle. "Whoa, did I just hear what I think I heard? My little Sio-chan actually showing interest in a _guy_?"

"I-I'm just saying I think they're attractive! That doesn't mean I'd want to…_date_ either of them…" Stuttering, as always when she was flustered, she buried her face into the pillow. "Though it sounds like you're already pretty set on one of them…"

"Ehh well…okay look, at the very least, I wanna get to know them better; let's face it, when's the next chance we're gonna meet another set of twins?"

She did bring up a good point; sometimes Sio thought half their notoriety came not only from Nobu's antics, but just from them being anomalies. Two souls who happened to be born at the exact same time.

"But in all seriousness, if either of them decides to make a move on you…well, they've gotta go through me first."

Sio just sighed and turned off the lights as they got into their respective bunks. "Don't worry Nobu-_nee-sama_, I kinda doubt that'll happen…"

Even if as she was being overtaken by drowsiness, she kept thinking back to a certain set of jewel-like eyes…

* * *

><p>"Wrong; yeh misspelled 'genetics'. It's '<em>g<em>-e-n-e-t-i-c-s,' doesn't start with a 'j'."

A bored green iris blinked back against slightly irritated maroons. How was it that she could've ever thought he was attractive last night—had to have been tiredness—certainly whatever little fantasy she'd harbored about this _gaijin_ being thoughtful, kind and attentive—

"—Oy! Yeh listenin' squirt? Do you wanna get a good score on this essay or not?" That tone of annoyance, as if she wasn't even worth a second of his precious time—for once, she wished she was bold like her sister and had the guts to slap him in the face.

"…I _do_, I just…forgot, okay?! Give me a break, I'm not a native speaker like you! And also, my name isn't 'squirt', it's Sio Ogura!" Groaning, she planted her face into the desk, tired of having to edit her English essay for the nth time. If only it wasn't due directly next period, she would never have in a million years agreed to spend her lunch break with _him_, sitting in an empty classroom instead of chatting with Asao-san or eating with her sister.

"Excuses won't get yeh nowhere. Now hurry up, we've only got ten more minutes before lunch is over."

Flustered, she angrily crossed out the word and re-wrote it, her pencil digging into the paper all the while. "If you're not interested in helping, then just say so and I won't bother you next time!"

An awkward silence descended upon the room as she realized the words that tumbled out of her mouth. Oh crap. Though he hadn't said a word, she could tell by his expression that he'd definitely hadn't been expecting that from her.

Why did this always happen to her? Her inability to coherently convey how she really felt…as if her stuttering wasn't bad enough, but she could never muster the courage to say what she really wanted to, unlike Nobunagun; and the few times she did like right now, it was usually without any forethought or filter.

"_A-Ano_, I-I-I, didn't—I'm sorry—"

"—No; I, uh, should actually be…apologizing." A sigh, although not in any sort of annoyance at her. "Sorry; 's just, this is kinda, new to me too…never really taught people before, much less in another language, so I…" He fidgeted in his seat, as if uncomfortable about sharing something so personal with her. "…I volunteered to do this; so, it's my responsibility to be better about being patient."

She nodded, feeling even worse. Of course, he was just a student like her, just because he was perfectly bilingual didn't mean he was going to automatically know how to teach her and magically raise her grades in English. "O-Oh, no no no, I…totally, understand. Actually, I…should probably be better about, being patient too…"

"Yeh, well, I guess we've both got somethin' to learn, 'ey?" His mouth curved into a small smile, and for some reason she felt herself automatically returning it. "Though I gotta say, I think that's the first time I've heard yeh talk like that. Isn't your sister the one who usually speaks?"

Sio blushed in embarrassment. "A-Ah, I'm so sorry! It's just…I-I, I'm no good when it comes to, t-talking, to people I'm not familiar with…n-n-not that I'm, s-s-saying you're, a, stranger or anything Muirhead-san, I, I—" Here she went again, just blabbing like a ditz without actually processing her words.

To her astonishment, he simply chuckled, in a way that made her feel oddly warm. "Heh, 's all right, Ogura-san; you don't need to apologize. Believe me, I know what it's like, havin' a twin. Yeh naturally balance each other out; one's better at talking, the other at listening. Is that how it is with you two?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh…Nobu-_nee-sama_ likes to talk…but I just, like to listen, so…I-I mean, if I'm talking with Asao-san, that's fine, but, mostly…I'm a, good listener…?"

"Mm hmm…that's a good skill t' have, I think." He glanced over her essay one last time, nodding in satisfaction. "Looks good now. By the way, 's there a reason yeh, uh, call your sister…'_sama_'? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's usually only reserved for high-ranking people, isn't it?" She stared, unsure of what to make of it. "Er, yeh know what, forget about it—'s not my place to pry—"

Now it was her turn to laugh. "Oh, that; ah, it's really just a joke between us, when we were little… Because, you know, Nobunaga was very famous, and so we joked that one day, she would go out and conquer the world so…" Smiling, she remembered the days when she and Nobu just spent all day running around, doing nothing but playing in the endless summer hours. "I guess it's just kind of stuck ever since…"

"I see. That's a nice story. Unfortunately, can't say Jack and I have any 'cute' nicknames for each other, unless you count 'Jack the Ripper'—though he always hates it when I bring it up."

She blinked in confusion. "Jack…the Ripper…?"

"Ah. I mean, I think in Japanese it's…_Kiriaski Jakku_?"

Oh, as in the notorious London serial killer… "Ehh?! Isn't that kind of…well, mean?"

He gave her a mischievous grin. "Well now, being the older one has its…advantages, shall we say?"

* * *

><p>The essay was turned in, and she felt better. Mostly. Muirhead-san—no, Adam-san, as he'd preferred, while not as smooth as his brother, wasn't unpleasant at all. No, he was really quite nice. Perhaps quieter like her, instead allowing his twin to steer the conversation and only butting in when necessary or when Jack-san was starting to become unbearable.<p>

_'He is really nice…even though, he seems kind of gruff…and he keeps calling me squirt instead…'_ Though only when nobody else was around. Normally she would've instantly told Nobu, who would then proceed to beat said person up but for some reason, she didn't mind it as much as she'd thought. Nobody ever called her anything different or really even noticed her before.

It felt…special.

"Sio-chan, Sio-chan! Are you even listening?" Asao-san's face gave a slight frown as the girl pulled out of her thoughts, rubbing her head sheepishly.

"_A-Ano_, sorry…what time did you say we should meet again?"

The other girl gave a small sigh. "I was thinking, maybe we should meet at 10am by the train station? I don't want to get there too late, and Mami-chan said she has to run some errands for her mother in the afternoon, so we shouldn't choose too late a showing."

Ten o'clock in the morning? Mentally she gave a slight groan, but she really did want to see Godzilla. Weekends were generally her sleep-in days…in fact, it was rare for her to be up before noon on a Saturday, unless it was Nobu waking her for some mischief or other. "_Hai_…I'll…make it."

"Oh, that's right, I can't believe I forgot, but did your sister want to come as well?"

"O-Oh, right…I completely forgot to ask her about it. Uh, hang on, let me talk to her when we get back, and I'll email you?" Whoops. She was so used to the two of them being a unit that sometimes she forgot that inviting one did not automatically include the other. "I'm sure she would want to too, though."

"Well, we can just plan for a maximum of four people then." Nodding, Asao-san put her phone back in the bag, getting ready to leave as club activities finally ended.

She wasn't even paying attention to the chatter around the room, for they never included her anyway. But all of a sudden, halfway through packing her backpack, the room seemed to have fallen into a hush. And then…

"Oy. Ogura-san…can I borrow you for a minute?"

The pencil case fell from her grip into the open bag. No way…no, freaking way that the person who would be talking to her, no in fact _standing right next to her_—

"A-Adam-s-san?! I-I-I—_hai_—y-yes?" A buzz of whispers among the other students permeated throughout the room and she heard snatches, of anything from curiosity to sarcasm to other less…savory comments.

As if he couldn't hear the gossip, Adam sat down on the edge of her desk, acting like they were already good friends. "Oh, sorry, didn't know yeh were packing. If yer busy, I can wait for you…"

Whoa. _Whoa_. He was going to wait for her. If it weren't for the fact that Nobunagun usually stayed later to help pack up the airsoft equipment, she was sure her sister would've sent him flying already. But no, it was just her and Asao-san—wait, why was her friend inching towards the door and giving her a quick wave and a wink—_waitwaitwait_—

"N-N-No, y-you don't have to, I-I'll hurry up! I'm sorry!" In her current state of panic, the notebook jerked out of her hand and fell onto the floor. "Ah, oh no—"

"—Here; uh, y'know, yeh don't have to be in such a hurry…'s not like I'm on a schedule." Instead of handing the notebook back, he put it directly into her bag. "You all done?"

Her face was so red she was surprised she hadn't fainted as he proceeded to follow her out the door, a fresh wave of rumors erupting the second the two of them left the classroom.

"S-So, wh-wh-what, did you want to…talk about?" Why did the hallways seem so empty all of a sudden—where were the students that were here just a minute ago? Not to mention the absence of her sister; without Nobu's constant chatter, it seemed like everything was ten times more noticeable than usual. _'Nobu-nee-sama…please hurry up!'_

Maybe it was just purely innocent, that he needed to talk to her about something trivial—maybe she made a mistake during class—but this, just the act of walking out together was enough to nearly put her in a state of unconsciousness.

"Well, not sure how much yeh'd know about it, but ah…" There was a pause, as if he was searching for the right words, though it only made Sio more nervous. "Just…about clubs. I mean, Jack an' I are both in the Literature Club, but I don't really think it's for us; yeh wouldn't happen t'know about, how to switch, or…is that even possible?"

Literature Club? Oh. _Oh_. So he hadn't meant anything by it at all…while she was relieved to be not put on the spot, and glad that she could answer his questions (yes, just submit the paperwork along with a short paragraph stating why), part of her was strangely disappointed that he had not asked her anything more.

"Going on a date already? How cute." That voice, dripping with sarcasm as Sio realized with a dread who was behind them…

"N-Nobu-_nee-sama_! I, I was just going to find you—" All blood drained from her face as her voice failed and she uttered incoherent squeaks, her sister advancing like some predator that had cornered some very tasty prey "I-I c-can, explain—"

"What's there to explain? I just wanted to ask yer sister 'bout some club logistics. Didn't mean anything by it." Adam, still maintaining his cool despite the radiating death-waves that Nobunagun was giving off.

"Excuse me?! Listen you Brit, you even lay so much as a _hair_ on my sister and I'll do more than just castrate you."

Oh dear. This was not going to end well…first Jack, and now Adam. It seemed like Nobunagun simply wouldn't rest until she'd made it crystal clear just who was most important to her.

"_Maah_, Nobu-_nee-sama_, stop it! H-He—A-Adam-san just, just wanted to ask a question…r-r-really, that's all!" Just when she thought she might actually be getting somewhere in making a new friend… Though Sio loved her sister, there were times that Nobu seriously tried her patience.

As if the stand-off couldn't get any more awkward, the last of the twins decided to chose now to make his entrance. "Eh? Oh ho, don't tell you've got yourself into trouble too, _onii-chan~_"

"Shut up Jack, and I told yeh t' stop callin' me that—"

"—You keep tellin' yourself that. Anyway. What is this, a Mexican stand-off?"

Sio and Adam were in the middle of the hallway, Nobunagun blocking the back and Jack in front. To say that this was one of the most awkward moments in her life so far would be an understatement.

"_N-Nee_, can't we all just—"

"—and out of all the students, you 'just so happened' to choose my _sister_—"

"—'s that a crime or somethin', 'cause last I checked asking a question wasn't illegal—"

"—'oy, how about you leave my brother out of this—"

"—STOP!" Everybody froze right where they were, even Jack and Nobu, who looked liked they were about to punch each other in the face. "J-Just…this is, all just a, a misunderstanding! Adam-san was just asking me about changing clubs, and Nobu, can you please stop instantly assuming that everyone wants to…hurt me?"

More silence, until it was punctuated by a low whistle from the other twin in front of her. "I'm impressed; I didn't think you were capable of being bolder than yer sister—ack!"

"Shut your mouth; next syllable that comes out of you, and I'll crush your dick." Glowering, Nobunagun withdrew her hand, although she was noticeably more subdued than earlier. "C'mon Sio, let's go."

Without even waiting for a response of any kind, Sio was forcefully led down the hall. "_A-Ano_, I'm sorry—Nobu stop pulling so hard!" Silence. Which, coming from someone who usually filled the gaps with chatter, was worrisome.

"…Nobu-_nee-sama_, a-are you…angry at me? Ah—" Just as they had suddenly left, her sister came to a sudden stop. "…Nobunagun…"

"I'm not mad."

"…Liar."

For once, her sister did not try to deny it. "…You're right; I'm not happy. But it's not for the reasons you might think."

"But, weren't you the one who said you wanted to get to know them? I don't understand, Nobu!"

"Yeah, you know what, I did. But I just…" She swung around, startling the younger twin. "I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt! I don't care if it was intentional or not…"

"But I—" What to say, how to even say it; this was not at all how Sio imagined her Friday going. Instead of asking her sister about seeing a movie, they were now engaged in a battle that began the day they were born—

—the one which they wished to protect the other, no matter the cost.

"…I think, that Adam-san at least…he isn't like that. I think…he's quite nice…"

"…"

She hung her head sadly. No matter the reason, she hated it whenever she and Nobu got into a disagreement. "Nobu…I—"

"Whatever. Just…"

She wished Nobunagun had finished her sentence before the two of them stepped inside the house.


	5. Bang the Doldrums

**A/N: Suggestive content towards the end.**

* * *

><p><em> Best friends…ex-friends 'til the end, better off as lovers and not the other way around… <em>

The earbuds were tucked in, lest he start blasting music throughout the entire apartment. It seemed like the weekend would never arrive and yet here they were, a gorgeous Saturday morning which could be taken any number of ways—exploring temples, shopping in Shibuya, or if he was good, starting his homework.

He gave a bored glance at the messenger bag that had been sitting next to his desk ever since they'd gotten home Friday, entirely untouched. And would remain so until probably tomorrow night, when he rushed to finish the bare minimum of whatever was due the next day.

"Oy! Yeh awake yet or what?" Adam, no doubt already cleaned up and dressed whereas he was still lounging around in bed, clad in nothing but his boxers while mindlessly surfing the internet and listening to music.

The door opened and his brother walked in, a look of exasperation on his face. "'Ey, I thought we agreed t'be ready," he glanced at the desk clock, "_half_ an hour ago?" One eyebrow raised in mild irritation, although Jack just shrugged it off.

"Whaddya expect, it's a Saturday… 's not like the store closes early or anything." Yawning, he closed the laptop and set it aside—maybe he should consider washing up—

"…Saturday or not, there are still a lot of things we need to take care of: banking, the groceries, gettin' yer train pass—" His twin started pacing the room, clearly agitated at the younger's apparent lack of responsibilities.

_'Here we go again…'_ While Adam continued to tic off their list of plans for today, Jack casually walked to the bathroom, washed up, and only when he was buckling his belt did his brother seem to run out of steam.

"You done lecturing me yet, _onii-chan_?" He deadpanned, which was met with a flick to the forehead. "Ow! Stop hitting me!"

"If yer gonna insist on callin' me by that ridiculous nickname, then you'd better keep expectin' this." Without even waiting for a response, Adam turned out the door, clearly annoyed. "Fine; if yer not interested in headin' out, then I'll go by myself; yeh can stay home and protect us against the non-existant burglars."

"O-Oy! Adam, hang on—" Damn it, why was he being so moody all of a sudden? "It's just a joke…" he muttered, rubbing his forehead vigorously. Especially given the countless number of times he'd run crying to their mum as a child, complaining about being teased as London's merciless killer, The Ripper. By all means, '_onii-chan_' was practically harmless.

It wasn't until he heard the door open did he realize his brother was being entirely serious. "Adam! Wait, you're not…you're really going by yourself…?"

"…Well, yea, given that yeh don't seem particularly interested in goin' anywhere…" Yup, definitely still pissed. "What, yeh worried?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm not five, for fuck's sake."

That wasn't the point; well okay, admittedly he did worry about his brother going anywhere by himself, but more so the sudden bad attitude he was exhibiting. "…God, what are you, gettin' your 'man period' or somethin'? No need to be all pissy over a stupid nickname…"

"Need I remind you, I've already said several times that I _don't_ like it?" The door closed, clearly Adam was not going anywhere until they either resolved this or no longer wanted to see each other's face. "Why did you—where'd you even come up with that idea in the first place? Please don't tell me yer livin' out yer 'weeabo' dreams—"

"—sorry; I just…thought it was…funny…" Once again, the second Adam seriously got angry, he would back off, shut down; truly, he'd only started calling him that because it had just sounded so…well, cute. Adam was always so serious, taking on all the duties and responsibilities, only being capable of put off-kilter by him. Especially whenever he got flustered over some thing or another—he would usually blush, start stuttering, and generally act like an adorable five-year-old rather than a teenager going on immediately to 30.

"…" Silence. Neither of them looking at each other, one feeling guilty while the other was ashamed.

"…All right; sorry, I shouldn'tve…yelled at yeh like that. Just…I'd rather yeh not call me that all th' time; 'specially in public…"

"…okay…" Head hanging, he slumped into the couch, now no longer in the mood to go anywhere, even if Adam wasn't really angry with him anymore.

"So…did you still wanna come..with?"

He shook his head. "…It's fine. I hadn't…really planned anythin' for today." To his surprise, he felt a weight next to him on the couch. "Uh, aren't you going out?"

"Tch. Yeh really think I'd just leave yeh like this, moping about?" One thing you could say about twins; it was just as easy to get angry one second and be over it the next. "…It just…feels weird, hearin' that from you…please don't call me that…"

He nodded. Fair enough; after all, they'd never called each other by anything other than their own names. "…I just don't want you to hate me."

Now the other blinked rapidly in surprise. "Hate you? Th' hell you'd get that crazy idea from…"

"…I don't know…"

"Er…okay." Hesitant movement, before he felt fingers running through his fine strands, combing out the tangles he'd missed in his haste down the stairs. He sighed a little, the soothing action putting him in a bit of a trance. "…Yeh feelin' okay? This isn't like you…"

"Yes, yes I am, really." Well, for the most part, anyway. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about those two twins, especially that Nobunagun…and it was a little frightening. "I'm fine; you can go out and run your errands, I'll…I'm just gonna stay here."

"Oh." A tone of dejection, and now Jack really felt like shit. "Well, all right…ah, hell, yeh know what, I'll just run out real quick t' grab some stuff so we don't starve tonight, and when I get back," he cast a glance at the newly set up PS4, "**video games**, '_eeey_?"

At the mention of the word "games" he instantly perked up, all moodiness vanishing as he nodded rapidly. Hell yes, he'd missed cussing out his brother while trying to gun him down on some map, or else trolling unsuspecting (but entirely deserving) 12-year-old dickwads online—because twins were just made for teamwork. "Yes! God we haven't played for so long—I wanna test out our connection here in Japan."

"Okay okay, I'll hurry then—you'd better not start without me!" He yelled as the door closed, a grin plastered all over his face.

Sighing, Jack flopped backwards onto the couch, contemplated for all of two seconds of simply napping until Adam got back, and ultimately decided to be good for once and actually do homework. He could be a good student too…when he felt like it. Which was usually never.

Reluctantly he trudged up the stairs, maybe just read a chapter or two and call it day…

* * *

><p><em>1. Describe, using quotations from the text, why you think Midori asks the question "where are you now?" at the end of the novel.<em>

One look at the essay questions, and Jack knew this wasn't going to be completed any time soon. Nope. _Norwegian Wood_ was a Murakami classic for sure, but as for trying to prove any sort of analytical shit, and his brain stopped processing. 'Might take a stab at it tomorrow…' Stretching, he checked his phone's messages, only to see a few messages from Adam stating that he'd gotten caught up in some unexpected errands, and would unfortunately be back later than he expected.

_Unexpected errands…?_ Surely it wasn't anything…serious?_ 'But if that was the case, he would've just called me instead…' _Sending back a query, he tried not to feel too uneasy about this detour.

Until the doorbell rang.

That couldn't be Adam…could it? Cautiously he shuffled towards the door, before opening it—

"—Yo. Is your brother home?"

He'd been expecting his brother, hell even the mailman would've been more likely—but this, her—

"Uh, Nobunagun…? What're you doing here?" She was dressed rather boyishly today, a mesh tank-top and cuffed shorts, all black.

"Nothing much. Just…thought I'd stop by and say hi."

"Uh…huh."

"…And also to…apologize…for accusing your brother." Huh. Despite her temper, she was actually pretty cute when she let go of her ego for once.

"…Well, Adam's…out right now, but I'll let him know when he gets back. But, apology…accepted."

"…Cool. We're good then?"

"…Yeah."

This was getting awkward real fast; he could tell that she hadn't really been keen on apologizing in the first place, but knowing their bond, Sio had probably been the one who guilt-tripped her into coming in the first place. And yet she remained, hovering by his entrance instead of leaving.

Maybe he should play the gentleman for once. "You…wanna come in? 'S kinda empty since we're still, settling in, but…" This response seemed to surprise them both, but she quickly recovered, a smirk settling onto her face.

"Sure. Why the hell not."

* * *

><p>"Eh? A PS4, huh…" A low whistle as the girl examined their setup while he got a glass of water. "Gimme your PSN ID—we should have a couple of matches."<p>

"Oh? So, I was right about the video games…" After all, only those who'd sat through the entire space-opera trilogy would ever make a reference about selling testicles to a Krogan.

Nobunagun let out a laugh, and he found himself unconsciously liking the sound. "Heh, don't even get me started on how many games Sio and I still have to finish…" Finishing the glass, she set it down on the coffee table. "So, it's just you and your brother, right?"

"Yeh; and you? Just two sisters?"

The girl nodded, sitting down next to him—why was he feeling oddly warm all of a sudden—"I'm glad it's just Sio; I don't think I'd want any other siblings."

Such a sentiment, shared by only those like them. "Yeah; I can't even imagine what'd be like if I had another brother or sister. Or if…Adam was never born." He frowned. Probably wouldn't even be himself right now.

"Twins are something…special, huh?" Her voice had a faraway tone, as if lost in her own thoughts—or maybe it was because she'd somehow gotten all over him, crawling into his lap—

"—o-oy, excuse me—"

"—Hmm? Something wrong?"

_Uh, yea, why th' hell are you sitting in my lap?_ But strangely, despite the sudden weirdness of the situation, he didn't instantly push her away. "…You sure are…forward, aren't you?" He gave her a glance and he knew she knew what he was talking about, especially as she spread her lips into a slow smile.

"Oh…well, I mean, I guess I was wrong about you. And your brother. Even though you've got one of the most uncouth mouths I've ever heard…you're not a bad person, not bad at all…" A finger was tracing down his collarbone, dipping underneath the collar and he shivered, for sure she could feel his pulse. "I think I'd…like to get to know you better…"

It wasn't like him to be nervous, even around girls—Adam had zero interest in dating and so Jack was pretty much the only who'd ever bothered, but then again it'd mostly been your usual flings, no particular attachments involved. So how was it that with just a few choice sentences and a single finger, this Nobunagun was already making him very hot and bothered?

"Th-there are, other ways t' get to—shit—know people, better, you know…" A feminine giggle, innocent yet sultry at the same time, as she slowly undid the top buttons of his shirt. His brain was firing on all cylinders, telling him that he was about to get it on with a girl he'd barely known for a week, not even in his bedroom but the living room couch, where his brother could return and walk in on them any minute.

And then he politely told his brain to fuck off, because hell, he wasn't about to turn down this opportunity when she so clearly wanted it, and it had been quite a while since he'd gotten any…self-indulgence aside…

"I know, but sex is faster." A shrug and her top came off, leaving nothing on but a lacy black bra. "Don't you agree?"

Oh yeah. Jack had to admit he agreed.


	6. Sweet Devil

**A/N: Warning, explicit sexual content this chapter. Hetero.**

* * *

><p>When Sio had woken up first for once that morning, face etched into a permanent grimace, Nobunagun knew she wasn't going to be let off the hook so easy. So maybe she'd been overreacting—just a tad—<em>slightly<em>—and truthfully seeing that look on her sister's face hurt her more than she cared to admit.

_'That was just rude, Nobu! You should apologize to them.'_

_'What for! How do you know they weren't trying to, to…earnestly seduce you?!' The older one threw her hands up into the air as the younger one got dressed, getting ready for her little playdate with Asao-san that was now limited to just one of them._

_'But they. Weren't.' For a moment, it was Sio who took on that serious expression, sending a little chill down Nobunagun's spine. Since when did her imouto grow up all of a sudden…_ _No, that was another thought for another time. '…All right; I'll just look up their address in the directory and pay them a visit while you go watch that movie.' The bitterness in her tone couldn't be helped, because really, she had been looking forward to going with them._

Although, somehow the task of 'going over to the brothers' place and apologize' had turned into 'go into house of said brothers and proceed to bang the younger one'; but hey, as Nobunagun would reason later, she _did_ apologize so that was her end of the bargain upheld.

She made no promises for anything that might've happened later on.

"F-Fuck, you sure move quick…" Heavy breaths panted against shell of her ear as she wasted no time in removing most of her clothing, only lingerie remaining as she carefully divested the younger brother of his shirt and moved to unclasp his belt.

"Oh? What, you never been with a girl before…" She drawled, perhaps it might be fun to stretch this out a little bit, instead of going straight for the kill.

A low chuckle and she gasped as he swiftly moved a hand behind and unclasped her bra in one move. "I beg to differ, Miss Nobunagun," the black lace falling to the floor and he pressed a kiss in between the soft mounds, however slight it was.

"_Hnnn_…so tell me Ripper, how many girls have you 'ripped' your way through?" Although Nobunagun certainly wasn't one to talk when it came to number of past flings, for some reason the idea of someone other than her toying with this gorgeous specimen irritated her. "_Hch_—watch those teeth! They're sensitive…"

"Where did you hear that nickname?" A sudden sharp prick against her sensitive breast, his annoyance clear in the bruise that was rapidly forming against the smooth curve. "I hate that—let's make one thing clear: 'f we're gonna do this, you don't mention that name. Got it?"

So, _Kirisaki Jakku_ was a sore point for him, after all. Trust a twin to give you the most accurate of information. "…All right; since you so kindly address me as Nobunagun, I'll respect your wishes…Jack."

"Hn." He didn't say anything after that, but his teeth were noticeably absent now and replaced with the moist roughness of his tongue, skillfully maneuvering it over each peak until it pebbled into a stiff point and she moaned, combing out his silvery locks with her fingers.

Maybe one day she would look back on her past actions with regret, but for now, Nobunagun didn't care if her behavior was considered promiscuous or even slutty—if she wanted to satisfy her libido, then it was her business. Even if she knew that Sio always frowned upon these…shallow relationships, she couldn't help herself—why force herself into the suffocating binds of a social norm that was (in her opinion) vastly outdated, and furthermore against one of the most basic elements of human nature? It wasn't like the relationships were forced or anything—for her, she just never felt the need to connect much beyond a physical level.

_'I don't need emotional companionship, or a so-called soulmate…Sio-chan is already all of those things, and more…'_ At least, that was what she had repeated to herself, all these years.

"D-Damn, I guess you're—_aah_—actually, pretty skilled…" It was getting harder and harder to breathe normally, let alone talk, but she hated relinquishing any level of control.

Jack stopped for a moment and actually gave her a quizzical stare, as if not quite believing her gall to say such things. "…Either that, or all yer previous boy toys were shit."

To her own surprise, she laughed out of genuine amusement. "Hah! True, true…maybe that stereotype of _gaijins_ being better lovers…is true, to an extent…" Mmm, he was now sliding that finger of his down, down, into her panties that were sopping wet and practically staining through to his pants. "_Aahh, yes!_…Right there!"

"There go my pants…" she heard him mutter under his breath, but who cared, really? Not when he was skillfully fingering her clit, while two fingers alternating thrusting inside her. Shifting a bit closer, so she could rest her head against his shoulders while clawing against his back.

"_Haah…aah,_ oh god yes…" Truthfully Nobunagun hadn't been expecting anything special; just your typical romp between the sheets. But so far, this gaijin was exceeding and shattering all her expectations; it didn't seem like he was the casanova type, so perhaps he was correct in stating that she'd just hadn't had the fortune yet to experience a truly skilled partner. "_Hnn_, your fingers are quite exceptional…but I think, I'd—_uhnn_—like, something else…" Without even waiting for an answer, she slid her hands beneath his boxers and gently prodded his length, already hard and twitching against the fabric. "Besides, you look like you're in pain…"

"Is that what…you think? 'Cause it seems to me, your clit is harder than my dick…"

If it weren't for the fact that Nobunagun had heard practically every single dirty pick-up line in the last few years, she would've lost it; yet the laugher that escaped her lips was sincere. "Aww, you think I actually give a damn. That's cute." An almost-parody of an innocent kiss, while she repeatedly prodded the tip with just the edge of her nail.

"_Shit_—don't poke it like that—!" He gave a start underneath her and she giggled, enjoying his reactions immensely.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing," she cooed in his ear while firmly gripping his shaft and pumping in a moderate pace, listening to his moans as she used his own fluids to lubricate her hand. "You're pretty big…"

At this moment, where she was incredibly horny and literally dripping with anticipation, Nobunagun was not going to deny it: she wanted him right now, and she wanted him _bad_. Not even waiting for some sort of signal or acknowledgement, she proceeded to clamber over his lap, much to his surprise.

"_Jesus_—maybe a, I-I don't know, warning next time?!" She nearly fell backwards before he realized her intent and reached out to stabilize her frame, guiding her hips into the correct position before she sank down with a groan that sounded something like sheer relief.

_Ah…!_ She managed to take him in one go, and the difference in size was distinctly noticeable. Still, she had never been one to show discomfort, or weakness, and so she merely grit her teeth, sitting still while she adjusted herself.

"Oy, did you hurt yourself?" Huh. He was actually…concerned about her? Most guys were only about their own pleasure, or else shallow robots who followed her commands down to a tee. But it wasn't like they were even on familiar terms yet, and certainly none of her previous partners had uttered much beyond the crass sounds of copulation.

"I'm…all right. Heh, I wasn't…exactly expecting that, so…" He nodded as if understanding, and to her surprise one of his hands was gently stroking her thigh, and she realized he was helping her to relax. "Hmmm…you're surprisingly…sweet."

"An' you're less of a wildcat than your fangs would otherwise suggest," he shot back, though there was still that grin, that let her know he was not going to simply take it easy on her. "Feelin' better?"

Oh yeah. _Much_. As she felt herself relaxing, the discomfort receded as the fit become not taut but snug. "_Hnn_…it's so hot…and big…" In truth she was quite close to the edge at this point, having not had a partner in some time but it would be no fun if she just ended it right there and then. As she moved herself experimentally, trying to find a good rhythm, her vision turned upside-down before realizing that she was now lying on the couch. "Hey—what gives?!"

A smirk, his eyes glinting beyond the fringe of white. "You've been doin' quite a bit of driving now…why don't yeh let me take a turn?" He winked, just like on the first day they met. "I promise, you'll enjoy it."

Nobunagun set her face in a neutral expression. Most of the time, she preferred to be in control, if only because most guys had absolutely no idea how to actually please a woman. Still, Jack had already proven himself to be above that level, and she _was_ getting unbearably impatient… Decisions, decisions, which were not helped by the constant throbbing she felt inside her, just the pulsing from his cock alone could probably push her over the edge if she tried hard enough.

She licked her lips. "…Then you'd better fuck me damn well, Jack-san~" Oh, what was she getting herself into now—actually scratch that, she had no idea what he was capable of other than it was probably going to be more fantastic than anything she'd experienced so far.

An involuntary shudder as he matched her expression, that predatory glimmer just visible behind emerald glass. "Oh, Nobunagun…like they say, _be careful what you wish for~_"

There was only a split-second of actual worry, before any and all logical thoughts were literally shoved out of her head as he drove into her with a tremendous thrust, immediately shoving her hard against the armrest while she gave a scream of pure ecstasy. "_Aaah! Ah_, yes—fuck me!" Their joining was messy and noisy, but none of that mattered to her right now—not when she was being fulfilled in the most basic, primal manner. Sweat coated their bodies and her hair was uncomfortably slathered against her forehead, but she couldn't spare even a moment to brush them away.

_So hot. So good…_ How long had it been since she was able to completely let go like this, indulging her libido? Masturbation only got you so far, and frankly it was tiring after a while. He cupped her round bottom and flipped her legs up, and she cried at the pleasure this new angle allowed for. "_Ooh_…god yes, oh shit—!" The fabric of the couch was scratching her back in a rather painful manner, and vaguely she wondered if it would leave marks, given the rate he was thrusting her downwards.

"_Haah_—you certainly, are…different…" His whispering tickled her ear, pressing kisses down her jaw and neck. From her vantage point, she allowed herself to be the voyeur, to enjoy his impressive physique from every angle. Broad shoulders, strong jawline…and a helluva set of abs. All in all, with that unusual hair and eye colors, he was quite a catch.

It was a wonder none of the girls had snatched him up the moment they'd stepped foot off the plane, but all the better for her, she supposed. Then again, most of the student population never dared to cross her, least they exact her wrath, so…

Her stomach tightened and she unconsciously moaned, knowing that her peak was about to burst. That heavy pressure, building until it was a singularity to be reached, _now_. "_Fuck_, I'm coming…"

"Yea? I could still go for a bit more…" That teasing tone, hinting at his 'superior' ability to hold himself back…it ignited Nobunagun's competitive side and suddenly, she decided if he could wait, then so could she.

"…Can you, now…" Even if he wasn't going to come quite yet, experience told her that he was no doubt on his last legs. Slight trickles were already running down her leg and staining the poor couch, and she could feel she wasn't the only one getting wet. "Your cock is twitching so much…wh-what, makes you think, I-I'll be the first to, come?"

"Oh? Like your insides aren't already…convulsing…don't—_haah_—lie, I can feel it…"

She wriggled herself into a more upright position to meet his thrusts, causing him to stutter and lost the momentum for a second. "_Hah_—! Who's coming first, now?" Grinning, she kissed his neck and purposely tightened her muscles, squeezing him until he gave a pained gasp.

"Ch-cheater—_ah_! Stop that!" Growling, he rubbed her clit in retaliation and she jerked her hips, nearly crashing through that paper-thin barrier.

"How is th-this, cheating?! Stop being a whiner…you know you like it…" Come on, just a little more…she was already pulling all the stops she could from this position, being on the bottom. And there was no way she was going to lose.

"_Hnng_—l-ladies first…yeh?" He wasn't even bothering trying to hide it now, both of them desperately clinging to the fact that the other might go first, being held back only by their equally stubborn pride. Each push and pull was pure, delicious torture…teasing her with what she could have, but not yet…

"O-Oh no, I…_insist_ that you…go first…" Another thrust, another notch that she didn't know could go tighter.

"Only, after…_you_…" His breath was short and hot as it fanned her face.

"…_Nope_…" Gathering the last of her strength, Nobunagun somehow managed to push herself up, and him back, using the moment to slam herself down one last time. Jack gave a startled cry, not even able to retort with one last comeback as she felt him come immediately inside her, groaning and clutching her thighs.

"Yes…I win—_oh fuuuuuuu—!_"

She was only able to celebrate her victory for a single second, before she crashed and let her long-overdue orgasm overtake her completely, wracking her body with the kind of torturous pleasure she hadn't felt…well, ever. Faintly she heard him moaning as she squeezed down, no doubt the extra sensitivity making it a little too much for him.

"…_Fuck_. What the hell just happened." Groaning, she propped herself up, wondering if it had been ten seconds or ten minutes since she climaxed. Actually, how much time had passed total, now that she thought about it?

"Amazing sex happened, that's what," came his curt reply, lifting himself up now that her weight had lessened. "Yer lucky Adam didn't come back in the middle of all this…" He reached out for his phone, expression quickly going from placid to panic as he scanned the contents. "Oh shit, he's on his way back—that was ten minutes ago—!"

"Oh. Uh, good timing, I guess?" Chuckling weakly, she reluctantly parted, wincing as the overflow dripped out. "Oops, sorry about your couch…" Though, their enthusiasm had left her in a rather…gross state, to put bluntly. "Um…don't suppose I could, borrow your shower real quick…?" It would incredibly awkward if his brother came back before she left, but at the same time, she was rather loath to put her clothes back on, not when she was still sweaty and covered in questionable fluids.

He gave her a quick glance, and she knew he was thinking the same. "Hell, I don't think there's a point in tryin' to hide it at this point. It's upstairs." A tilt of his head upward, while he slowly attempted to make himself look at least presentable.

"…Thank you." Resisting the urge to just take a peek and guess whose room was whose, she made a beeline for the single bathroom. Hopefully she could finish and be out the door before the older brother returned home…otherwise, well…

She'd been in more awkward situations.


	7. Beauty & Beast

**A/N: Some raunchy banter, but nothing above PG-13.**

* * *

><p>"Eh? S-So, you should probably be heading back then—if, if Jack-san's waiting for you…?" God damn it. Just the way she was getting so flustered, nervously tittering while stirring her hot chocolate for the hundredth time…<p>

_Super cute._

"Ah, it's fine; actually, I texted him back and he didn't respond…" He frowned slightly, it wasn't like Jack to be so unresponsive, but perhaps he ended up going back to sleep? And really, the truth was Adam didn't quite want to end this little…er, what would you call this? Meeting? Chance encounter?

Date—

_'Stop gettin' ahead of yourself, this is not a date, you haven't even known her for a week, just—'_

In truth, when he'd left the house, the only thing on his mind had been to grab something to eat, and then spend the day at home. What he did not count on was stepping _out_ of the _conbini_ just as the two of them were walking _in_.

He'd recognized Ogura-san right away—even without her uniform, that short bob, round maroon eyes weren't something he'd be forgetting anytime soon—and apparently she could tell him apart from his brother, despite the short amount of time they'd known each other.

_'A-Ano, A-Adam-s-san? What, a…' She apparently lost all train of thought after she realized who he was._ _'—Coincidence? Ah, so you must be the one who's helping Sio-chan with her English. I'm Asao Kaoru; pleased to meet you, Muirhead-san.' _ _Her friend was much more open, politely exchanging greetings while Sio attempted to recover from her shock. As if she possessed all the social graces and mannerisms that Sio lacked, this Asao-san somehow led them to a nearby cafe, and then five minutes into the little impromptu trip, announced she had to go home and then left the two of them._

Which led them to now. Not that he didn't mind sitting around and drinking hot chocolate, or getting to know her better, but there was still that nagging little voice in the back of his mind that said, hey, your brother's waiting for you; shouldn't you head back? Guiltily he'd sent a vague message about how he was currently caught in some 'unexpected errands', though Jack had yet to send a response.

"O-Oh…I, see…" She nodded, and though she hadn't said anything, the understanding was there.

_You're worried about him, aren't you?_

"Meh, don't worry yerself too much about Jack—he's more than capable 'f takin' care of himself. 'Sides, wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I left yeh all by yourself, now would I?" Adam never claimed to be much of a flirt, or had anything more than just polite exchanges when it came to girls—but for some reason with this girl, Sio Ogura, he couldn't help it—despite the lack of closeness, something just felt so right about hanging out with her, even gently teasing her.

As expected, the poor girl's face proceeded to flush ten shades of red, all in rapid succession. "A-A-Ah, I-I-I didn't, m-m-mean…" Out of words to say, she silently focused all her attentions on the mug, as if it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever encountered. "…Mmm, it's just…I-I-I, kn-know what, it's like…to be, worried about…your other half…"

His gaze turned down a little as she stammered out the last part. True…he did promise Jack that he'd hurry so they could play video games the entire afternoon. And hadn't it been him who had specifically made his brother promise not to start without him? Suddenly the hot chocolate didn't sit quite right in his mouth, despite its sweetness.

_'Such an exemplar brother, caring more about wooing some cute girl than keeping a promise to your twin…'_ Damn it. He really should be heading back, Jack could be waiting on him for all he knew…

"Eh, Adam-san…y-you know, I-I…" As if steeling herself, she took a giant sip of the cocoa and exhaled loudly. "I, really appreciate you, keeping me company…I-I, really…I…enjoyed it…but, I think—no, I know that, you really are worried about, your brother…so, you should go home…yeah?" And for the first time since they'd met, Adam was rewarded with a genuine smile that seemed to light up the girl's entire face, as small as it was. He couldn't help but feel himself smiling back.

"…You are right; heh, I guess it really does take one to know one…tell you what, I'll walk yeh home partway—I think you live pretty close in the general direction?" He gave a nod towards the other side of the railroad tracks.

"!" Oops. Maybe that was a little too much, judging from the way she seemed to have suddenly frozen, cheeks turning redder than her eyes. Chuckling to himself, he paid their bill before Ogura-san could figure it out (a true gentleman, after all, always paid for a lady) and escorted her out, oblivious to the numerous stares of both envy and enchantment from the cafe's staff.

"S-So…y-you and Jack-san…are from England? London?" The breeze was nice and combined with the sun, meant that the mood was surprisingly tranquil. Though he didn't outright just ask for her address—that would be incredibly rude, no matter what country they were in—she pointed in the general direction that he was going in as well.

"Yeh; Greenwich, t' be exact. It's a…district. Kinda like how Tokyo's got its own—Shinjuku, Shibuya…"

"_Sou desu ne_…a-ah, _gomen_, I can't say I've…heard of it before…" And there she went again, face turning an amusing shade of pink and red while pointedly avoiding his gaze. He shook his head, it wasn't a huge deal—everybody knew of London, but that didn't mean each of its surrounding districts shared the same popularity.

"Nah; it's actually a pretty quaint area, at least where we live. Though, it is right on the River Thames, so that's pretty nice." Sure, you'd certainly be hard-pressed to beat the frantic, neon pulse of Tokyo's nightlife, but he had to admit that right now, after a whirlwind first week, he was missing the quietness of the countryside.

The phone buzzed and he scanned Jack's message—finally, had he been sleeping or was it just a bad connection—questioning on what it was that was keeping him. Guiltily Adam cast a sideways glance at the girl who seemed to be more focused on keeping in perfect step next to him, before sending back a vague reply about heading back now.

It was too complicated to just explain it all through emails, though he had a feeling Jack would never let him live it down for being delayed by a _girl_.

"Ah, I'm actually…heading to the left." He blinked and they were at the crossroads past the railway, Ogura-san apparently splitting to head back to her own residence. "B-But,_a-a-ano_…th-thanks, for, keeping me company…" she smiled that really shy smile and he felt his pulse speed up for some reason, "…I had, fun…"

Gods be damned if she wasn't just about the most adorable thing he'd ever encountered. Short of some baby animal or something, but that was a different story. Sure, at first he hadn't thought much of her looks—typical small build, short brown hair with a face that was rather plain—how the hell could he ever have thought that? For some reason all his thoughts now were only focused on how nicely her petite frame matched her rounded maroons, and how despite her stuttering she was so earnestly trying to hold a conversation with him—

"—_A-ano_, Adam-san? _Daijoubu?_" She gently prodded his arm and he snapped out of it, praying to whatever great spirit that was up there that Ogura-san hadn't noticed his absurd little daydream. He swallowed nervously and forced himself to focus.

"Y-yeh, I had a good time, too…after all, what're the odds we'd bump into each other, 'ey squirt?" Suddenly all traces of nervousness disappeared, replaced with her trademark irritation that only seemed to show itself around him.

"_M-Mou_, Adam-san…why do you keep calling me that?! I'm not a newbie or anything…" Huffing, she crossed her arms and resolutely looked the other way, though he could tell from the slight red remaining on her cheeks that she wasn't truly mad at him.

At least, he hoped so. "Well, I _am_ tutorin' you in English, I'd say that counts as a rookie of sorts…yeh?" He gave her a rather toothy grin and she couldn't help but flush again, much to his amusement. "Don't worry 'bout it, Ogura-san. You'll be fine; you're already pretty good yeh know, just…don't be so scared. Gotta get some of your sister's confidence, no?"

Where was all this…_kindness_…coming from? Compared to Jack, he might as well have been a saint, yes, but personally acting like this towards someone he'd barely known for a week? And was a girl? Why was it that already he was more concerned that usual about how she felt, about how he presented himself? They were just classmates, maybe advanced to the level of friends after today—a huge _maybe_. And yet he had to admit to himself, he'd enjoyed their little time together; _liked_ it, wanted to maybe even possibly…do it again?

As soon as Ogura-san waved good-bye one more time and headed off, he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Jesus…what was getting into him? Perhaps it was just the effect these super-polite, quiet Japanese girls had on everyone…or maybe he was just being weird for no reason. Shaking his head, he quickly headed back in the direction of the apartment, already the euphoria was being replaced with a sinking feeling of guilt at the thought of what could've possibly awaited him back at their home.

* * *

><p>"Um…hi?"<p>

"Yo. Perfect timing, it seems."

He blinked. She blinked. The face staring back at him the second he was about to open the door was exactly the same and yet entirely different than the one he'd just left. Behind, his brother could only sort of shrug, expression clearly saying 'please don't explode, I swear I'll explain everything later.'

For surely, out of all the scenarios he could have imagined returning to, being greeted by the exact copy of the girl he'd just said goodbye to, in his own home… Oh, the implications of this situation; and knowing Jack, it probably hadn't just been a friendly little gaming session or something of that sort.

"Uh, timing…?" Awkward, awkward awkward; the best thing to do now would be to try and act as normal as possible, and then grill Jack about the details later. After all, it didn't seem like she was harboring any ill intent, but just this whole setup (like why was she even here in the first place?!) just had him feeling like he should mentally prepare himself for some sort of shock.

"I thought you weren't gonna be back before I left, since…well, I just, wanted to apologize. Y'know, for…accusing you. Baselessly." She quickly added, sensing the tension rising between the two. "Anyway, I'll get outta your way now, I should be heading back too. Bye!" And without another word she slipped past his stunned figure, leaving just him and his brother, who looked very much uncomfortable yet also guiltily pleased at the same time.

Adam suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

Silently he sat the bags down on the kitchen table, all the while being nervously followed by Jack. "Okay, spill. Why the bloody hell do I come back t' find a girl leaving our apartment the same time I'm returning to it?" A split-second of silence followed by a poorly-concealed grin—"Oh god, Jack for the love of—please tell me you two didn't—!"

"—Hey, I made sure to clean the couch afterwards!" Despite his brother's reassurance, Adam couldn't help but jump up from his seat as if it was a pit filled with snakes. "An' for the record, she came on to _me_, okay? I swear, I did not seduce her or any of whatever-it-is you've got goin' on in yer little head—"

"—Oh shit I knew it; you fuckin'—you—_banged her on the living room couch?!_"

"…more or less."

"What the bloody hell's tha' supposed t' mean?! Did you, or did you not just have sex with a girl on our new couch, and one that yeh barely know might I add?!" He could feel a headache coming on, all thoughts of even explaining his own little snag completely gone from his mind now.

"I—yes. Yes, I did just have sex with Nobunagun. What, you want me to apologise or somethin'?" His twin simply rolled his eyes, no doubt annoyed at his prudish attitude. "Oh come on, Adam, It wasn't like I was planning to! It just…sorta happened."

Oh, _that_ explained a lot. There was a story behind, this, of course. "Okay; okay, let's just…just start from the beginning, please." It wouldn't do to lose his temper now, not after their rocky morning and the fragile peace that was very nearly threatening to break completely. "What, exactly happened after I left the house?"

"I went upstairs, read _Norwegian Wood_, and decided to not start my essay. Then I get your text—speaking of which, what were _you_ doing—"

"—Just answer the damned question first—"

A single glare, as if debating on the merits of arguing with him, before yielding because he was still the older one. But barely. "…Fine. But you'd better 'fess up, too." An unspoken agreement between the two. "After your text…the door rang an' I thought it was you, but of course it turned out to be…her."

He nodded. "Okay. So she did want to apologize?"

"Yeh; my guess is that twin of hers made her come." A shrug, and Adam leaned against the edge of the table while Jack sat in the chair. "And then…she…just—well you know—!"

Yeah, he knew all right, but he had to admit it was hard to believe the girl had been as aggressive as Jack claimed. "S-So…she, she…_initiated_ it, yeh?"

An exasperated sigh. "Yes, that's what I've been tryin' t' tell you! I swear, one second we're just chatting about video games and the next she's stripping her clothes off in my lap—"

"—okay okay, that's enough, I think I get the picture…" Thank god nosebleeds due to embarrassment were just an urban legend. He hoped. Even though Jack had girlfriends before, he'd never paid much attention—didn't want to. And now just even imagining a carbon copy of himself, with a carbon copy of Ogura-san, doing…doing…_that_…

He felt a huge rush of heat going both up and down his body, as Jack rolled his eyes and roughly clapped his shoulder. "Jesus Adam, quit bein' such a prude; I swear, you need to get laid…like, now."

"Shut up! 'S none of yer damned business…" Why was he thinking of Ogura-san all of a sudden? Yeah, he would admit she was a pretty sweet girl, and he would not object at all to getting to know her more, but how was it that now he couldn't stop wondering how he would react if she suddenly perched herself in his lap, wearing nothing but an unbuttoned shirt while slowly undoing his—

He had to put his head down on the table, before he fell over completely. A cold shower sounded reeaaally nice right about now… Next to him, Jack let out a wry chuckle.

"Having fun with your imagination, dearest brother? Relax, nothing happened—well, nothing _bad_, anyway. Though I gotta say, she sure likes it rough—"

"—just stop, I get it already, all right?" If Jack didn't have the shame to be embarrassed, then he would for him. "So, what, yeh goin' out with her now or something?"

A devious grin on his brother's face, satisfied with his little dose of revenge. "Hmm, I actually don't know? You kinda came back before we could make much sense of it…but ah, I certainly wouldn't object to it… Cute face, nice body, an' feisty t' boot…" He let out a low whistle. "I like girls who are spirited; not just gonna lie there and stay quiet the whole time, but actually tell me what they want. God knows it's hard enough already tryin' to read their minds, let alone what they want in bed."

Adam groaned and slapped his brother's arm before he could go on another tirade about his sexual preferences. "You're really enjoying this, aren't yeh? Bastard."

"Hey, you asked and so I shall deliver." For once the younger one messed with the older's hair, instead of the usual other way around. "Okay, so I spilled, now your turn. What was this so-called 'errand' that kept you busy while I was…_busy?_"

"Hn; if yeh could believe it, actually ran into th' 'other one' while out…" So much for being cool about the whole ordeal, his little date-not-date seemed very small compared to everything.

"Wait, what? You actually ran into her _sister_? Sio Ogura?" Jack's voice was a mixture of disbelief and glee, no doubt the gears already turning in his head and storing it away for potential leverage later on. "No bloody way; what'd you do? Get her number?"

"No! I ran into her an' Asao-san—her friend—then they decided to get something to drink so we went to this cafe, and then we sat around and afterwards we walked back—"

Now Jack was positively shaking with pent-up laughter, and Adam had a feeling that he'd somehow forgotten to filter out some more choice details. Too late for that…

"Waitwaitwait, so lemme get this straight: you two sat around in a cafe, and then you _walked her home_? Bloody hell Adam, if that's not a date then I don't know what is!"

Was it? In his mind, Adam still wasn't sure what it was. At its core, it had been just a little outing; granted it was a nice outing, but the word 'date', its connotations alone…he wasn't sure if he was ready for that quite yet. "I-I…" And then he remembered he'd paid for her, too. Shit. "…I thought it was just, rude t' leave her there, an' she just happened to live in the general direction I was going…"

"Mmm hmm, you keep tellin' yourself that, Adam." He wanted to wipe that stupid grin off his brother's face, but he knew it was already too late at this point. "Ah, my older brother is finally getting his act together! Who'd've ever thought…"

"Whatever; can we just not talk about this anymore?" So much for being the older one and in charge and all that shit. Sighing, Adam put the food in the fridge; maybe when his head was a little less frantic he'd be able to concentrate on making something edible. As in, preferably after a few rounds of Call of Duty. "Oy, yeh still wanna play or not?"

"Well yeah, wasn't that the plan in the first place?"

The system booted up and he felt the flood of excitement of the game pushing in, the embarrassment receding for now. Thank god twins were always the type to bounce back nearly instantaneously. Next to him, Jack muttered something about inputting the Ogura twin's PSN in first, before starting the game and the windows of their apartment started vibrating due to the overwhelming bass of the game's soundtrack.

About halfway through their third match however, his brotherly, responsible-older-sibling instincts kick him in the head and he couldn't help but blurting out his concern.

"…Did you at least use protection?"

"…Oh bloody fuck."


End file.
